Where does the saying "The crying baby gets the milk" come from? I don't think it's from English.
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In Spanish we say "el que no llora, no mama", which is almost a literal translation of "the crying baby gets the milk".– user42700Apr 17, 2013 at 21:22
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2@Gus That's stretching the meaning of "literal" quite a lot.– RegDwigнtApr 17, 2013 at 22:43
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@Reg ... hence "almost", perhaps? I believe the point Gus was making is valid; while the phrase is not a word for word direct translation, the underlying meaning is obviously extremely similar.– David John WelshMay 11, 2013 at 5:03
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2@DavidJohnWelsh Literal has a literal meaning. “He who does not cry, does not nurse” is the literal translation. That’s quite different from the title of this posting.– tchrist ♦May 11, 2013 at 12:27
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2Chinese always say "会哭的孩子有奶吃" which is identical translation.– estJul 23, 2014 at 6:38
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1 Answer
The English equivalent would be, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease." I don't recognize the milk idiom though.
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1"The crying baby gets the milk" does seem to have English roots and relatively common usage; perhaps more in B.E. than A.E.– KeithSJul 20, 2011 at 16:35
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@Colin. This native B.E. speaker has heard neither the 'crying baby' idiom nor the 'squeaky wheel' idiom previously.– TrevorDMay 11, 2013 at 13:59